Cactus Flower

The dentist Julian had told his girlfriend Toni he was married, so that he would never have to marry her. When Toni gets serious, Julian has to produce a fake wife and asks his assistant Stephanie to play the part. She agrees, and then turns out to be far too good at it. The subject is not the lie but Stephanie looking back at her own life. A woman who has stood behind the practice for years discovers, while playing a wife, that she might have a life of her own. The real transformation is hers, not Julian's. The form comes from the stage and runs on the timing of lines; the scenes are long and the misunderstandings pile up. It is adapted from Abe Burrows' Broadway play, which itself came from a French comedy. Ingrid Bergman returned to American comedy with this film after a long absence, and Goldie Hawn won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her first major screen role. Walter Matthau plays the dentist. Gene Saks directs. Who it is for: viewers who like sixties American drawing-room comedy and Matthau's grouchy timing. Who it is not for: anyone who will question the morality of the setup; Julian is never held to account and the ending rewards him far too easily.